1. Field
Embodiments of the inventive concepts relate to a semiconductor package and a method of manufacturing the same, and more particularly, to a semiconductor package having a heat spreader and a thermal capacitor and a method of manufacturing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
As electronic devices have become more highly integrated and designed to deliver higher performance, the semiconductor package is also increasingly being manufactured to have a smaller size and higher density. Higher performance of a high density semiconductor package operating at higher speed necessarily generates a larger quantity of heat in the semiconductor package. Thus, sufficient thermal dissipation of the excess heat becomes one of the most important factors for increasing the operational stability and product reliability of a state-of-the-art semiconductor package and of electronic systems including such a semiconductor package. For those reasons, various heat dissipation systems have been suggested for high density semiconductor packages.
In conventional thermal dissipation systems, a major portion of the heat is dissipated by thermal conduction in which a thermal dissipation member makes direct contact with the semiconductor package. Also, in these conventional systems, a minor portion of the heat may be dissipated by thermal convection, such as by a forced circulation of air. For example, a dissipating plate, such as a heat spreader, is usually arranged on the semiconductor package in selective conjunction with an active circulator of air. Thus, most of the heat is dissipated outwards from the semiconductor package through the heat spreader by the heat conduction, and residuals of the heat are also dissipated through the actively-circulated air by heat convection. However, the heat transfer rate for heat dissipation by heat conduction using the metal that comprises the heat spreader is often inadequate. In the same way, the heat transfer rate for heat dissipation by heat convection using a convection fluid is also often insufficient regardless of the degree of natural and forced convection.
Recent electronic devices require high instantaneous driving power for a moment due to various applications for such devices, such as mobile web and home appliances. These devices also typically require high average power due to their high performance design. The average heat generated from a high performance semiconductor package when an average driving power is applied can typically be sufficiently dissipated through the conventional thermal dissipation system; and, thus, the semiconductor package can be maintained under thermal control. However, the large quantity of substantially instantaneous heat that is commonly generated from the semiconductor package when an instantaneous driving power is applied cannot be sufficiently dissipated through the conventional thermal dissipation system.
In conventional semiconductor packages, when the temperature of an integrated circuit (IC) chip in the semiconductor package reaches a maximal point, the driving power is designed to be automatically shut off through a temperature control program in the thermal dissipation system so as to reduce the temperature of the IC chip. However, such an automatic power shut-off to the IC chip necessarily decreases the performance of the IC chip. Thus, the IC chip is forced to operate below the maximal performance and driving specifications. As a result, the average performance of the semiconductor package having the IC chip may decrease due to the automatic power shut-off under excessive heat conditions.
Accordingly, there has been a need for a new thermal dissipation system by which a large amount of the instantaneous heat generated in a semiconductor package when a substantially instantaneous driving power is applied may be sufficiently dissipated without excessively increasing an IC chip temperature or causing an automatic power shut-off.